Spring coiling machine with means permitting removal of terminal portion of wire



2,925,115 TING E. E. FRANKS, JR SPRING COILING MACHINE WITH MEANS PERMITFeb. 16, 1960 REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION OF WIRE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 18, 1957 NVENTOR EDMRD E. FRAMrS JR.

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Feb. 16, 1960 E. E. FRANKS, JR 2,925,115

SPRING comm MACHINE WITH MEANS PERMITTING REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION OFWIRE Filed Feb. 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EDHMRDE FMNKS JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent SPRING COILING MACHINE WITH MEANS PER-IAIIIPTTING REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION Edward E. Franks, Jr.,Litchfield, Conn., assignor to The Torrington Manufacturing Company,Torrington, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 18,1957, Serial No. 640,679

3 Claims. (Cl. 15365) The invention relates to a spring coilingmechanism which is preferably a portion of a complete spring coilingmachine of the general type disclosed in the Bergevin and Nigro PatentNo. 2,119,002 dated May 31, 1938.

In the operation of a machine of the said type, the wire is fed againsta coiling abutment which serves to coil said wire around a normallyfixed arbor to form a spring. After completion of the spring, feeding isinterrupted and the wire is so cut that the leading end of the uncutportion thereof is bent partly around the arbor and is available toconstitute the initial portion of the next following spring. When thewire supply is exhausted, there is usually a short terminal piece ofwire which remains after cutting off the final spring or portion of aspring and which is bent partly around the arbor. This terminal piece ofspring has been difiicult to remove, particularly for relatively largemachines using heavy wire. The general object of the invention is toprovide means in a wire coiling machine for facilitating the removal ofsaid terminal piece of wire.

The drawings show a preferred embodiment of the invention and suchembodiment will be described, but it will be understood that variouschanges may be made from the construction disclosed, and that thedrawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limitingthe scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of thisspecification being relied upon for that purpose.

Ofthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a portion of a spring ,coiliug machineembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1, but showing certainparts in different relative positions.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a spring being coiled.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines4-4 of Figs. 1 and 5.

Fig. 5 is a left end view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a right end view taken in the direction of the arrows 6, 6 inFig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1, but showing certainparts in different relative positions and showing other parts in sectionalong the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

A mechanism embodying the present invention is or maybe a portion of acomplete cyclically operable spring coiling machine, such as a machineof the type shown in the Bergevin and Nigro patent before mentioned.Reference is made to the said patent for a disclosure of the generalorganization of the machine and of various mechanisms other than thecoiling mechanism, such as the pitch control mechanism and the diametercontrol mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents the front portion of the frameof a cyclically operable spring coiling machine of the type shown in thesaid patent. The frame carries feed rolls for engaging the wire W andfor feeding cycle to rotate the feed rolls in the directions indicated,

so as to feed a wire W to a predetermined extent toward. the left andbetween wire guides 18 and 20. Said feed rolls and the driving meanstherefor constitute means for longitudinally feeding said wire to apredetermined extent during each cycle and for then interrupting feedingnear the end of the cycle.

During each operation of the feed rolls and during each feeding of thewire, said wire W is guided by said wire guides 18 and 2t and passesunder or over an arbor 22 which is carried by a tool holder 26. Themachine may be used for coiling either right-hand springs or left-handsprings, and for a right-hand spring it has a normal position below theline of wire feed as shown in Fig. 1. Also carried by the tool holder 26is a guide 28 which for right-hand springs is located above the wire andserves to hold it against the arbor. The arbor is semi-cylindrical andit has a flat face that is adapted for cooperation with a cutting tool.

Coiling is effected by engagement of the advancing wire W with a coilingabutment 30 located with its right end adjacent the arbor 22, as shownin Figs. 2 and 3. The end face of the coiling point may have atransverse, approximately vertical, groove 32 for receiving the wire,said groove being shown in Fig. 2. As the wire is fed toward the left,it is bent downwardly by the abutment 30 and is coiled around the arbor22, the coiled spring moving toward the front, or away from the frameplate 10, as coiling proceeds.

Carried by the tool holder 26 is a pitch tool 34 which is supported by astem 36 transversely movable in an aperture in said holder. The pitchtool 34 is located below the guide block 28 and it engages the wireconvolutions during coiling to determine the pitch of the spring. For a.uniform spring pitch, the pitch tool 34 can be set in a selected fixedposition. For a variable spring pitch said tool can be moved duringcoiling transversely of the feeding direction, it being so moved by acam on a transverse cam shaft. The mechanism for moving the pitch tool34 is not shown, but said mechanism is or may be as set forth in thesaid Patent No. 2,119,002.

The parts are shown as arranged for coiling righthand springs. Forleft-hand springs the arbor 22 and the pitch tool 34 are above the wireand the guide block 28 is below the wire. The wire is bent upwardly bythe coiling abutment and not downwardly.

For holding the coiling abutment 3! there is provided a bracket 38carried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction from said arbor22, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front face 39spaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement. Thebracket 38 may be a casting, but it is shown as comprising weldedplates. The bracket 38 is supported by a slide 39 guided forlongitudinal horizontal movement along a guideway 46 in the front of theframe plate It At its right end said guideway 40 terminates in anopening 41 in the frame 10. The coiling abutment Stl is connectedwiththe bracket 33 by means of various parts including a first slide 42which is at the end of said bracket adjacent said arbor. Said slide 42is adjustable transversely of the direction of wire feeding. Preferablyand as shown, said first slide 42 is adjustable vertically.

The bracket 38 includes a longitudinal vertical plate Patented Feb. 16,1960 Ordinarily there are two pairs of 44" wh'ieh is-closely adjacenttheslide 39 and closely adjacent the face of the frame10. The bracket 38further includes a forwardly projecting block 46 secured to the plate44. Said block. 46 has a vertical guideway 45-intheright portion thereoffor said vertically movable.

Also formed as an integral part of; the

first slide'42. bracket 38 is an upper platform lfi'connected with. the

block46 by a transverse vertical. plate 50 and by longi-v tudinalvertical plates 52 and 54 which connectwith' a horizontal plate 56secured to. said plate 44 and reinforced by a brace 58. There ispreferably also. provided a transverse vertical reinforcing rib 60.

The slide 42 may be vertically movediwith respect to the block 46 bymeans of a rotatable threadedshaft 62- engaging a nut 64 in said slide42;. The upper portion ofv the shaft 62 is guided in a suitable bearingin a projection 65' attached to the plate 50 and the. plate 52. Mountedon the platform 48 isan electric motor 66. and

a" gear box 63. By means of gears in the gear box 68' the motor 66transmits power to a vertical shaft 70' aligned with the shaft 62 andconnected therewith by a coupling 72. By means of a switch, not shown,the motor 66 can be operated to rotate the threaded shaft 62 and to movethe slide 42 upwardly or downwardly as required. Limit switches, notshown, may be provided to stop upward and downward slide movements atpredetermined upper and lower positions. Upward move ment of the slideis positively and finally limited by anadjustable stop screw 74 on theprojection 65 and downward movement of the slide. is positively andfinally limited by'an adjustable stop screw 76 carried by the block 46.The slide can be clamped in adjusted position by means of a screwrotatable by a knob 78 and engaging a gib 80.

The vertically movable first slide 42 preferably has a- 90 has a rearportion that is apertured to receive said abutment. Preferably said rearportion of the holder is split at 92, and a screw 94 is provided forreleasably clamping the abutment. The holder 90 is connected to theslide 82 by screws 96, 96 entered in arcuate slots 98, 98 in the holder,said slots being concentric with the center of the coiling abutment 30.The holder can be angularly adjusted about the axis of the abutment sothat the groove 32 in the abutment is inclined in accordance with thepitch angle of the spring to be wound. After adjustment, the abutmentand the holder can be held in adjusted position by the screws 96, 96.

It will be observed that the coiling abutment 30 may be manuallyadjusted angularly so that the groove 32 conforms to the pitch angle ofthe springs and may be manually adjusted transversely so that saidgroove 32 is in arcuate longitudinal alignment with the wire. Inaddition, for reasons to be set forth, the coiling abutment may be movedvertically to and away from an active position by power derived from themotor 66. With the coiling abutment 30 in proper position as shown invFig. 3, the wire is fed as previously described and a spring S iscoiled.

The diameter of the spring to be coiled is dependent upon the positionof the coiling abutment 30. spring is to have a uniform diameter, theslide 39 and the'coiling abutment 30 are not moved during coiling.

However, as a part of the setup proceeding, the slide 39.

is moved to adjust the coiling abutment so as to provide springs of therequired diameter. The slide may be, adjusted and held by a manuallyrotatable. screw 100.

.It is sometimesrequiredthat thediameter ofjthe. spring If the.

spasms 4 shall vary from end to end thereof. When so required,-the'slide'39 maybe moved duringcoiling tocorrespond ingly move thecoiling abutment 30. The mechanism for moving the slide and the abutmentinclude an oscillatory arm 102 connected with the slide 39 by a link104. The last said mechanism is fully disclosed in said Patent No.2,119,002.

In,=;a machine of the typershown in said. PatentiN'oa. 2,119,002 twocutter headsiisuch as 106. and 108. are provided which are movable abouttransverse axes located below and above the line of wire feed. These:heads are oscillated in opposite directions, and theyare adapted forholding cutting tools for cutting off; completed springs. Only one headis used at any one time, the lower head beingused for right-hand springsand the upper head being-used for. left-hand springs. A cutter 110 issecured to the head to be used, and as shown this is the lower head 106.The heads are timed to oscillate immediately after the completion.offeeding and. after the coiling of a spring suchas S and. the? tool110 cooperates with the flat face of the arbor2'2. to cut off thecompletely coiled spring. After cutaoff the leading end portion of thewire remains partly coiled' around the arbor as shown in Fig. 7, this,constituting; the initial portion of the next following spring, After...cut-off, the cutter returns to the position shown in. Fi'g. 11 and themachine is ready for coiling the next following. spring. I

The block 46 of the bracket 38 serves todirectly support the guidewayfor the vertically movableslide 42,... and said block also serves inassociation with theplate: 50 and the several braces to support theplatform.48.f and the parts thereon. For a purpose tobe fully stated,1.said block 46 is provided with a relatively large apere ture. 112 whichextends entirely therethrough longitudis nally. and which is in generalregister with the. pathof.

wire feeding. The coiling point when in its active. position is at leastpartially in longitudinal register with. said; aperture. As shown, saidaperture is rectangular with its. vertical depth much greater than itstransverse width, In setting up the machine for the coiling of springshaving any desired characteristics within the capacity, of the machine,the pitch tool 34 is adjusted transversely for the desired pitch of thespring and when required the... control mechanism for the pitch tool isadjusted to move said tool during coiling; and the coiling abutment 30is adjusted longitudinally for the desired diameter of" the spring andwhen required thecontrol mechanism for the coiling point is adjusted tomove said abutmentv during coiling. When necessary, the coilingabutmentis adjusted transversely by means of the slide 82 so that said abutmentproperly registers with the feeding path of the wire. The coilingabutment may also be adjusted. angularly so that the groove therein isat an angle corresponding to the pitch angle of the spring. 7

Assuming that right-hand springs are to be coiled, are coiling point 30is moved by means of the slide 42 and the motor 66 to an initialposition above thewire path as shown in Fig. l. The wire is advanced sothatits end projects beyond. the arbor 22. In order to insure. theproper coiling of springs downwardly around. the: arbor 22, it isnecessary for the projecting portion of the wire W to be bent downwardlyprior to the commencement of coiling. It has been common practice to sobend the wire manually and by means ofpliers': or some other hand tool,but for heavy wire such mans. ual bending is not feasible or is at leastvery difficult; With the present machine downward bending of the, wire.W is effected by the movement ofjthe abutment 30" downwardly from theFig. 1 position, the motor 66'be.-- ing utilized for this purpose. Theactive position of'tlie, abutment 30 is shown in. Fig. 2; audit vwillbe. observed" that .the abutment in movingdownward to .said;activeposition has bent the wire W around the, arborZZ,

With. .the parts in the. Pig.. 2. 'positioawire madman;

started to form convolutionsfand'springs are successive ly coiled andcut off as previously described. Fig. 3' shows a coiledspring S ready tobe cut'oflf. The first spring may be defective because of the excessivelength of theleading end of the wire and this spring is discarded. Whenthe supply of the wire W hasbeen substantially exhausted, the said wireis feduntil the trailing end of said wire-has passed the first feedrolls 11 and 12 and perhaps until it has passed the second feed rolls 13and 14 and feeding thereupon ceases. Prior to the cessation of feeding,a spring has ordinarily been partially but not completelycoiled.Notwithstanding the cessa tion of feeding, theother parts of the machinecontinue tofunction, and the incomplete spring is cut off by the cutter110. *This leaves a terminal piece of wire W with its trailing end atthe feed rolls and with its leading portion bent partly around the arbor22, said terminal piece of wire being shown in Fig. 7. It has heretoforebeen very ditficult to remove said terminal piece of wire W particularlywhen the wire was heavy and not readily subject to manual bending. Thehooking of the terminal wire piece W around the arbor 22 prevented anyrearward withdrawal and the coiling abutment and other parts preventedany forward removal.

In accordance with the present invention, the obstruction of said pieceof wire W by the coiling abutment 30 is eliminated by utilizing themotor 66 to move said abutment upwardly or downwardly to a positionwherein it will not obstruct movement of said wire piece W toward theleft or in the feeding direction. When a right-hand spring is beingcoiled, the coiling abutment is preferably moved upwardly so as to beabove the wire and ready for subsequent downward movement from the Fig.1 position to the Fig. 2 position. Fig. 7 shows the coiling abutmentmoved upwardly as stated. For a left-hand spring the coiling abutmentwould be moved downwardly. However, mere upward or downward movement ofthe coiling abutment is not suflicient to permit removal of the terminalwire piece W as said wire piece would still be inaccessible and removalthereof in the feeding direction would be prevented by the bracket 38and more particularly by the block 46 thereof which carries said coilingabutment. To enable said wire piece W to be removed in the feedingdirection, the before-mentioned opening or aperture 112 is provided insaid block 46. forming a portion of said bracket 38. The opening 112 isbehind the front face 39 of the bracket and it is in longitudinalregister with the initial position of said terminal wire piece w so thatthe latter can be easily removed longitudinally in the leading directionthrough said opening and without any forcing or bending. Full lines inFig. 7 show the wire piece W in its initial position and dotted lines insaid Fig. 7 show said wire piece being removed in the leading directionthrough said opening 112. If necessary, said wire piece W may be removedby any suitable tool such as T projected in the trailing directionthrough said aperture 112 and engaged with said terminal wire piece.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of asupporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof forlongitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycleand for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, a coilingarbor supported on the frame at the front thereof and having a normalposition adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracket carried by theframe and spaced in the feeding direction from said arbor, said bracketprojecting forwardly and having its front face spaced substantiallyforwardly from the path of wire movement and said bracket having anaperture extending longitudinally therethrough and at leastapproximately in register with said path, a slide on said bracket at theend thereof adjacent said arbor which slide is adjustable in a directiontransverse of the direction of wire feeding, a coiling abutment carriedby said slide" and having an active position in the path of wiremovement and at least partially in longitudinal register with saidbracket aperture which abutment in its said active position servesduring wire feeding for coiling the fed wire around said arbor with theresultant formation of a series of spring convolutions to constitute aspring, means cooperating with said arbor for cutting said wire aftercompletion of said spring which meansserves to so cut the wire that theleading portionof the remaining wire is bent partly around said arbor,and means-for moving said slide relatively to said bracket and in saidtransverse direction to move said coiling abutment out of register withsaid bracket aperture and out of the path ofwire movement so that aterminal wire piece which remains after wire cutting and. has itstrailing end at said feed rolls and which is bent partly around saidarbor may be readily removed in the leading direction through saidbracket aperture.

2. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of asupporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof forlongitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycleand for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, ahorizontal coiling arbor supported on the frame at the front thereof andhaving a normal position adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracketcarried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction from saidarbor, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front facespaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement and saidbracket having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and atleast approximately in register with said path, a vertically adjustableslide on said bracket at the end thereof adjacent said arbor, a coilingabutment carried by said slide and having an initial position spacedvertically from the path of wire movement and having an active positionin said path and at least partially in longitudinal register with saidbracket aperture which abutment in its said active position servesduring wire feeding for coiling the fed wire around said horizontalarbor with the resultant formation of a series of spring convolutions toconstitute a spring, means co operating with said arbor for cutting saidwire after completion of said spring which means serves. to so cut theWire that the leading portion of the wire remaining to be fed is bentpartly around said arbor, and means serving for vertically moving saidslide relatively to said bracket so as to move said coiling abutmentvertically from its initial position to its active position so as tobend the wire partly around said arbor preparatory to coiling and saidmeans subsequently serving to move said slide vertically so as to movesaid coiling abutment out of its said active position and out ofregister with said bracket aperture and out of the path of wire movementso that a terminal wire piece which remains after wire cutting and hasits trailing end at said feed rolls and which is bent partly around saidarbor may be readily removed in the leading direction through saidbracket aperture.

3. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of asupporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof forlongitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycleand for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, ahorizontal coiling arbor supported on the frame at the front thereof andhaving a normal position adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracketcarried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction fro-m saidarbor, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front facespaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement and saidbracket having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and atleast approximately in register with the path of wire movement, avertically adjustable first slide on said bracket at the end thereofadjacent said arbor, a second slide on the first slide and horizontallyadjustable relatively thereto,

7 4 roiling abutment carried by '=said second slide and having aninitial position spaced, vertically from the path of wire movement and.having an active position in the path of wire movementiand at leastpartially in longitudinal register with said bracket aperture whichabutment in its said active position serves during wire feeding forcoiling thefed wire around said horizontal arbor with the resultantformation of a series of spring convolutions to constitute a spring,means cooperating with said arbor for cutting said wire after completionof said spring which means serves to so cut the wire that the leadingportion of the wire remaining to be fedtis bent partly around saidarbor, and means for moving said first slide relatively to said bracketto move said vcoiling position so as ;to bend the wire partlyaround-said arbor preparatory to coiling, the last said means alsoserving for moving 'said first slide so as to move "said coilingabutmentout of its'saidQactive position sand out of register with saidbracket apertureand out of the path of-wire movement so that a terminal:wire piece which remains after wire cutting and has its ;trailingend atsaid feed rolls and which is bent partlyaroundnaidfarbormay be readilyremoved in the leading direction through 10 said bracket aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSabutment vertically from its initial position to its active 15 1,676,598Bleuel July l0. 1928

